Posts Tagged ‘India’

Dear Friends/Visitors/Viewers/Readers,

Vote YES on Amendment 4 in August Primary

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Dear Fellow Floridians, for more information about Early Voting, please refer to our Previous Post . If you have any questions about voting, please call the Election Protection hotline at: 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (1-888-839-8682-Espanol.) Assistance is available in English or Spanish.

We, the Floridians, have been blessed with generous sunshine, residing in the SunShine State. In the August Primary, Floridian voters will have the opportunity to lower energy cost and boost future solar energy production in the Sunshine State by voting YES for Amendment 4 on the Primary Ballot. Amendment 4 will amend Florida’s Constitution to exempt the value of solar panels and other renewable energy equipment from both the tangible personal property tax and the real property tax. In order for Amendment 4 to become law, it must be approved by YES vote from at least 60% of the Floridian voters for the August 30 Primary Ballot.

Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to authorize the Legislature, by general law, to exempt from ad valorem taxation the assessed value of solar or renewable energy source devices subject to tangible personal property tax, and to authorize the Legislature, by general law, to prohibit consideration of such devices in assessing the value of real property for ad valorem taxation purposes. This amendment takes effect January 1, 2018, and expires on December 31, 2037.

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Firstly, ad valorem simply means in proportion to the value. So, Amendment 4 is proposing to remove the tax based on the value of the solar panels/renewable energy source devices and also to prevent the inclusion of these devices when assessing the value of the real property. This amendment, if passed, will enable solar energy in Florida to be much more affordable for every one (commercial, as well as residential), help to increase the number of solar jobs and further solar development in Florida tremendously , and at no cost to Florida’s taxpayers because these taxes are not being collected now.

As we come to the final stage of fossil fuel period in history…

as more natural disasters (such as Hurricane Sandy and Louisiana flood) occur…

and increasing suicide rate of farmers from different parts of the world (India, Australia, etc.) resulting from extreme weather conditions due to increased rate of climate change….

and the cost of solar and renewable energy and battery storage technology continues to decrease

It is our moral imperative to do everything possible in slowing down the current rate of climate change. It is also our sense of practicality that should direct us quickly toward transition into solar and renewable energy. The great irony in life is that: those of us in the developed nations have been contributing far more than those in developing nations to this dramatic increased rate of climate change. But when the chips are down, it is those in the developing nations and the poorest who will be suffering more. There is something terribly wrong with this picture. It would have been far more impactful if Amendment 4 were passed more than a decade ago. Voting YES for Amendment 4 now is the least that we can and should do. In addition to installing solar, I believe we should also be thinking of switching to electrical vehicles, recycle more, bike and walk more, eat less meat, etc. It is economical/practical and ethical to encourage the growth of solar and renewable energy in the Sunshine State!

Keep in mind that there are three ways to vote:

At the polls on August 30, 2016

Early Voting between August 15-August 28 or August 20-August 27 or……., depending on which county you are in.

By mail starting from July 26, 2016 and be sure your mail-in ballot is received by 7:00 pm on election day, August 30, 2016. So, those of you who are planning on mailing in your ballot, be sure you do so ASAP.

For those of you interested in clean energy future, you may like to know that Florida Solar Voter is a project of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy dedicated to providing all Florida voters an easy way to sign up to vote by mail. Please feel free to contact Southern Alliance For Clean Energy via 813-252-1751 or www.CleanEnergy.org .You may also be interested in visiting Floridians For Solar Choice.

Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,

Glorious Day For Solar Cars Parade at Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia (credit: sunisthefuture-Susan SUn Nunamaker). It is Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015 (Adelaide time) but Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015 in some parts of the world.

The Solar Car Parade of World Solar Challenge will start at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015 (Adelaide time…although it is still Oct. 24, 2015 in some parts of the world), at Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia. It’s a glorious day for Solar Car Parade and a glorious time for Solar Energy Future!

Below is the video of the Solar Cars that came in on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. A great big applause for all of these teams, students, and supporters for their time, energy, and effort. It’s been a great learning opportunity for all of us! More will be posted and video uploaded later.

Below is the video of all of the solar cars that participated in World Solar Challenge 2015 Solar Car Parade on Oct. 25, 2015, at the Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia:

Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,

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Just a quick reminder for you all, Solar Enthusiasts, that Solar Power International 2015 will be held on September 14-17, 2015 at Anaheim, CA, at Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA, at 800 W Katella Ave., Anaheim, CA 92802, (714) 765-8950. This is an exciting time for solar industry in USA: 8 gigawatts of solar PV will be installed this year (2015), with California being in the forefront, having more installations than Australia, India, and Canada combined.

The above is the video of Rhone Resch, President & CEO of SEIA, inviting you all to attend the Solar Power International 2015. There will be more than 600 exhibitors from around the globe, 24 hours of networking, 100+ educational opportunities, hands on training labs, and solar strategy sessions for businesses. There will also be the Startup Alley at SPI2015. An example of a business/company in Startup Alley at Solar Power International 2015, below:

2015 is a momentous year for us, the Solar Enthusiasts! That is why I wanted to create a special image for the July 4/5, 2015 weekend post (above). For this image, I learned to use photoshop during the weekend of July 4/5, 2015!

July fireworks behind the Washington Monument, Public Domain-U.S.Airforce Employee

I am simply ecstatic! In the end of June, 2015, I came across some data (for PV projects as part of a 600-megawatt procurement, some new data on developer bids was just released by Austin Energy) that I want to share with you. According to Austin Energy’s vice president of resource planning Khalil Shalabi, the utility received offers for 7,976 megawatts of project after issuing a request for bids in April. Of those bids, 1,295 megawatts of projects were priced below 4 cents per kilowatt-hour. During a presentation before the Austin city council, Shalabi displayed an exponentially declining curve for PV projects in Texas,

Austin Solar Prices (Source: Austin Energy)

he said, “If you continue the curve, you can see that if the cost points continue along this sort of exponentially declining curve, we expect to see prices out in the future that are possibly below $20 a megawatt-hour.” Wow! $20 a megawatt-hour translates into 2 cents per kilowatt-hour (between 2018-2019)! That is definitely cost competitive (costing less than any other energy source if the cost of the plants, insurance, environmental costs, and operating costs are all being taken into consideration) when compared to all other energy sources.

Another exciting break-through is the fact that Solar has reached the 1% mark of global electricity demand. The actual figure may be even slightly higher than the cumulative capacity (178 GW) that’s being presented below because some countries (such as USA) did not include distributed solar into the calculations. With such an exponential growth, it will not be too surprising if/when solar will reach 10% of global electricity demand by 2025. According to EPIA (European Photovoltaic Industry Association), in three European countries: Italy, Germany, and Greece, solar PV supplies more than 7% of the electricity demand.

Global Solar PV (Source: Solar Power Europe), Tweeted by Jigar Shah

Globally, Europe is the world’s largest player with more than 88 GW installed at the end of 2014. China is now the fastest growing solar country/market, installing 10.6 GW in 2014, followed by Japan with 9.7 GW, and the USA in third place with just over 6.5 GW in 2014. Solar Power Europe (SPE) indicates that capacity could reach 540 GW in five years’ time in a high growth scenario and would reach 396 GW in a low-support case.

In 2015, according toGlobalData, China is likely to retain its world leading status, with US becoming the second, Japan third, and followed by Germany and India, for annual solar addition. China has revised its annual target to 17.8 GW and is well on its way, given that about 5 GW of solar capacity was already installed in Q1. “In the US, annual installations are expected to remain high during 2015 and 2016 owing to tax incentives for power stations that come online before the end of 2016. Solar additions in 2015 are expected to hit 7-8 GW largely due to continued policy support.””Japan’s lucrative solar PV policies have been attracting an increasing amount of investment since 2012, with annual installed capacity in 2014 reaching 8-9 GW, the country’s highest ever installed capacity in a single year. However, annual installations in 2015 are unlikely to reach 2014 levels.” I just want to remind us all that the solar/renewable energy world would not have come thus far if it were not for spear-heading effort and policy by Germany’s Hermann Scheer. I am thrilled to see both China and India (two nations with the most populace on planet earth) are making a great deal of effort in development of solar future.

These are all signs of what is to come….the Solar Tsunami that will bring about the change of our entire planet’s energy matrix mix. Dear friends and viewers/readers of Sun Is The Future, time to wake up to and share the fact that cost of solar is dramatically lower than what it used to be. We are ready to unshackle ourselves from the fossil fuel, and be ready for a much healthier, cleaner, and brighter Solar Energy Future!

~have a bright and sunny day~

Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker

Any comments and suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com

Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:

Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,

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The Swiss Solar Impulse 2 (solar airplane) and French solar rooftops have inspired me to look toward other forms of transport and surface areas to be powered by or used to generate solar energy. It’s fantastic that there had been quite a few interesting progress made in the area of trains. Case in point, the high speed train powered by solar energy, in the video below, was in service back in 2011 in Belgium:

The rail line between Antwerp and Amsterdam(about 80 miles) in Belgium was the first solar paneled train tunnel (about 2.2 mile long tunnel) in Europe that utilized 16,000 solar panels (costed $22 million for installation) to power the railway infrastructure and trains back in June (started on June 14), of 2011, bringing clean energy to trains. This Solar Tunnel project is expected to generate 3.3 megawatts of energy (equivalent of the average annual electricity consumption for 4,000 trains or about 1,000 homes). The project partner Enfinity also indicated that the tunnel is decreasing CO2 emissions by 2,400 tons annually. “It is the perfect way to cut the carbon footprint because the spaces used have no other economic value,” commented by Bart Van Renterghem, Enfinity former UK head. Other collaborators on this project were Belgium rail operator Infrabel and solar construction company Solar Power Systems. This was a fantastic clean energy project because it is optimizing the previously idled space and once the installation is in place, there is to be no consumption of fuel or coal and at no cost to our environment.

About 4461 miles (or 7179 km) away, India is planning to massively utilize the solar energy via its state-owned railway systems. With one of the largest railway networks in the world, running about 12,000 trains, 23 million passengers (practically the entire Australian population), and 3 million tonnes of freight daily, much energy is needed. In 2012, the Indian Railways consumed nearly 3 million kiloliters of diesel oil and about14 billion kWh of electricity . So, India’s railway minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu wants to control such a ballooning fuel bill by shifting toward alternative energy sources. Since the Indian Railway System is aiming to have at least 10% of its total energy consumption coming from renewable energy by 2020, the railway minister wants to incorporate more alternative energy sources to power trains. This is first done by solar powered lighting via solar panels mounted on the roofs of the trains. This is now being tested on a non-AC coach on the Rewari–Sitapurpassenger train.

The cost of installing panels on each coach is about Rs3.9 lakh (about $6,084), translating into savings of Rs1.24 lakh (about $1,934) per year, According to The Economic Times of India Times. In the next few weeks, the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and the railway coach maker Integral Coach Factory will be testing the solar paneled coach under a variety of conditions. Besides the solar powered coach, the Indian Railways will also be building solar power plants of about 8.8 MW (megawatts) in 200 train stations and some of its office buildings.

Without the common vision and collaborations from policy makers, such ambitious projects would not have existed. In India, it took the echoing support between India’s prime minister Narendra Modiand railway minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu to enable such a solar project to become a reality. Prime Minister Modi encouraged alternative energy projects by encouraging solar companies from around the world to invest $100 billion to reach its solar power capacity target of 100,000 MWby 2022 (about five times India’s current solar power generation capacity). He was also instrumental behind another ambitious project, World’s First Canal Solar Power Plant in India, in Gujarat, in one of our previous post.

I hope all policy makers and governing bodies will receive the support he/she/they/it need(s) during this critical transitional period in human history, onward and forward toward the renewable/solar energy future! For deep down, within all of our hearts, we know that Solar/Renewable/Clean Energy is the solution/answer to Energy-Pollution-Economic Prosperity-International Conflicts. The sooner we get there, the better it will be for us and our posterity. In our system of democracy, perhaps all of us may be able to help play a part in assisting our policy makers in arriving at the correct decisions or policies quickly.

~have a bright and sunny day~

Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker

Any comments and suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com

Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:

It’s a historical moment in Chongqing, China ! On March 30, 2015, just after 17:30 GMT, Solar Impulse 2 (the Solar Plane) has completed the fifth leg of its around-the-world flight. Solar Impulse is the first solar powered plane that has flown around the world! Due to weather conditions, the Solar Impulse team is laying over in southwest China for more than just a brief stop (as in the original plan) before pushing forward to Nanjing in eastern China and onward to Hawaii.

Solar Impulse 2 or HB-SIB would not have existed without the experience from Solar Impulse 1 or HB-SIA. Below is a video of Solar Impulse 1 or HB-SIA, “Best of 2010” of Solar Impulse:

It’s been almost three weeks since the beginning of the journey (of 12 legs) of HB-SIB that began from Abu Dhabi. The complete journey is expected to circumnavigate the globe and returning to the Emirate in few months. Solar Impulse has set two world records: First, the longest distance covered (1,468 km) on a single trip by manned solar plane between Muscat, Oman, and Ahmedabad, India. Second, the ground speed of 117 knots (216 km/h; 135 mph) achieved during the leg between Varanasi, India and Mandalay, Myanmar.

This fifth leg has proven to be not so easy for the Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, Besides covering a distance of 1,375 km and facing some difficult winds while approaching Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, the local controllers also asked Piccard to delay his arrival due to the pressure of commercial traffic. This truly reflects the journey of Solar Energy Age, for despite all of its obstacles that needed to be overcome, its future is certain to be bright. Its future has arrived!

Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,

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Rachel Maddow’s Comment on the “Where The Sun Don’t Shine”

This weekend, some of our friends have been sending me clip of a Rachel Maddow’s piece on “Where The Sun Don’t Shine”, commenting on Florida state legislators’ measures. Below (italics) is part of the transcript of Rachel Maddow’s piece on “Where The Sun Don’t Shine” that I would like to address:

Florida, is, technically speaking, the Sunshine State. That is their official state nickname and they do not mean it as a metaphor. They meant it as a founding principle, a main attraction of what Florida is. The Florida Department of Citrus has a new branded Avengers Character called Captain Citrus. Captain Citrus runs on Solar Power. The circle on his hands are solar pods. Maybe it’s my solar pods but you’re going down. Florida is so much the Sunshine State that the whole ad campaign for the city of Ft. Lauderdale is called “Find Your Sunny” and you can find Ft. Lauderdale at sunny.org Explore your sunny side in Sunshine State. So now naturally because it’s Florida that Florida has declared war on the Sun, even if it still wants to be known as the Sunshine State. This past week, very quietly, just before Thanksgiving, Florida, incredibly, decided to try to kill solar power in the state of Florida, they voted to kill entirely the solar rebate program in the state for installing solar panels. At the same time they told the state power companies that they can basically stop their efforts to conserve energy. Maddow then proceeded to show the decrease in Florida’s goal for energy conservation, below (between 2009 and 2014)

Rachel Maddow’s chart on FL conservation goal between 2009 and 2014

and they killed the program for solar power in the Sunshine State.

Power companies, the utilities, make money by selling power. The more power you use, the more power they can sell you, and therefore the more money they make. If you make the power yourself from the Sun, the solar panels on your roof, or if you/they/any one uses less power, then they (utility companies) will sell less power and make less money. So, right now, at the request of the utility companies, right before Thanksgiving, very quietly, Florida just decided to stop conserving energy as a state policy. They’re no longer going to try to even do that…and they’ve decided to completely unplug from the sun in the Sunshine State. It’s amazing….I don’t know what Captain Citrus is going to do, but I think Captain Citrus is not going to be happy about this…when this quiet news will be coming out…..

I. Cutting the Solar Rebate program: In reality, the Florida Solar Rebate program had not been funded for quite a few years already. Having an empty promise in solar rebate program hurts the solar policy or solar installations more than not having it at all (for many Floridians have chosen to wait to install solar in the future, when the solar rebate program will be funded, instead of installing now). So having it (empty or not-funded solar rebate program) off the books actually is a service for the Floridians. What we do need is better solar/renewable energy policy and goal, as I’ve been trying to gather interest (supplemented with petition and interviews of various energy experts) in: http://www.sunisthefuture.net/2014/09/24/let-the-sunshine-in-the-sunshine-state/

II.Cutting the Energy Efficiency goal: As Ms. Maddow succinctly puts it, “power companies make money by selling power”, and therefore is not naturally incentivized to ask its customers to conserve energy use. Expecting the power companies to voluntarily offer energy efficiency program is like asking some one else to do what I think is ethically correct while asking that some one else to pay for it and I am not. If energy efficiency program is to be carried out, it should not be involving the power companies . We would also need to be prepared for rate hikes as what’s been happening in all of the states that have been very successful with their energy efficiency programs (i.e. CA, MA, RI, VT, OR, http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_5_6_a)

Finally, I think the most efficient route is what’s being implemented in India, using carbon tax to fund clean, renewable energy (more details will be found in our next post). Right now, India has doubled its coal tax to 100 rupees per ton and will use the money generated for projects that would boost the country’s (India’s) solar power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020. So, if Floridians do not want to spend more on energy efficiency or solar rebate programs, then simply tax the carbon producers and use the yield to fund clean energy such as Solar and Wind or energy efficiency program. Then we may rightfully maintain our nickname as the SunShine State without having to tighten our belts. I think Captain Citrus will then approve.

~have a bright and sunny day~

Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker

Any of your questions/comments/suggestions will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com

Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:

Thanks to all of you out there who have helped with these Solar Loans. These Solar Loans will help to spread Sunshine and decrease CO2 emission for our planet earth. For those of you who would like to take part in speeding up our earthly transition toward the Solar/Renewable Energy Age, (in order to reduce problems associated with pollution, energy, climate change, national security, or job opportunities) please feel free to join us at Sunisthefuture Team at Kiva. I am happy to report that, since the inception of Sunisthefuture Team at Kiva (March 13, 2012), we have helped entrepreneurs and home owners from many different parts of the world (USA as well as elsewhere) with 1023 loans to establish their small businesses in Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, or Recycling projects (with occasional tools, seeds, cattle, etc.) via microfinance. Each and every one of you is very significant in making these projects a reality. We are optimistic and hopeful that by spreading more Sunshine (use of Solar Energy) throughout the planet earth more quickly, our planet earth will be a much better place to live. We are hopeful and optimistic that sun, water, wind, and geothermal energy will lead us into a world free from pollution and international conflicts.

Phaijang B is a group formed by women of common interest to get a loan for buying mini-solar home lighting systems so that their families stay in a better home environment at night, due to the shortage in the power supply in their area. Lamhat (32), the featured member of the group with her hand raised, is skilled in weaving and devotes most of her time to weaving different types of traditional shawls to generate income. She lives in a very remote village called Phaijang which is a 45-minute drive from Imphal, Manipur. Their family includes the mother, father, and three school-going children. She considers education a key to achieve one’s aim in life and had been giving her best effort to give the best to her children to excel in their education. As the area faces insufficient power supply, their daily duties are affected after dusk, especially the study hours of the children after sunset. After buying the mini solar home lighting system, the children are able to study in comfort after dusk and for longer period with better concentration. Their academic performance is much better now which is the reason for availing the loan. While the children study under the solar home lighting, the mother does the household chores and weaves in comfort. Her weaving hours were limited before, but now she can weave in the evening and increase her production. The family is very happy to receive such a loan and thanks WSDS for lending such a loan. (source: Kiva)

Hor is a 42-year-old woman who lives in a remote area of Prey Veng Province, Cambodia. At home, she is a lovely mother of two dependent children and two married children. To make a living, she manages and operates a farming business in rice farm land which is located near her house. So far, she has been involved in this business for nearly twenty years. The average earning is USD 2.00 a day. Hor wants to have household energy at a reduced monthly cost by purchasing a solar energy home system. Because there is inadequate money, she has requested a Kiva loan through its partner, HKL. After this initial investment, she hopes to have clean energy to power her household lights, TV and radio. She is very happy and thankful because with this loan, HKL has provided her a special interest rate lower than its general loan rates. (source: Kiva)

Serapio lives in a community in the Department of Intibucá Honduras. He is a farmer (corn and coffee) 40 years ago, age 60 years who lives with his wife and four children, they help him to work in the farmland. It is clear that Serapio works hard to maintain his family and at night, after a hard day of work, the conditions in the house are not very good due to the lack of electricity. The family currently illuminates their home with kerosene lamps because the electrical utility grid does not reach this rural area. He mentioned that with this solar energy system, he hopes improve the living conditions. Serapio is requesting a loan to purchase a complete solar electric system from Soluz Honduras, that will permit to have a better lighting, charge their cell phones, and saving in traditional energy expenditure. (source: Kiva)

Maria lives in a community in the Department of Intibucá, Honduras. She has been a corn farmer for 10 years. She is 32; she is married and has five children. It is clear that Maria works hard to maintain her family and at night, after a hard day of work, the conditions in the house are not very good due to the lack of electricity. She hopes that with the solar energy system, their children will be able to do their homework and improve the living conditions. Maria is requesting a loan to purchase a complete solar electric system from Soluz Honduras, that will permit to have a better lighting, charge cell phones, and save in traditional energy expenditure. (source: Kiva)

Cristian lives in a community in the Department of Intibucá Honduras. He works as a teacher of primary education from 3 years, age 21; He live with his parents. It is clear that Cristian works hard to maintain his parents and at night, after a hard day of work, the conditions in the house are not very good due to the lack of electricity. He hopes that with the solar energy system, he will be able to prepare his classes at night and help his family with the tasks at home. Cristian is requesting a loan to purchase a complete solar electric system from Soluz Honduras, that will permit him to have better lighting, charge his cell phone, and save in traditional energy expenditure.

~have a bright and sunny day~

Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker

Any of your questions/comments/suggestions will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com

Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:

As cities expand, population density increases, but without sufficient redundancy built-in the grid system, incidents such as this, below, will likely to appear.

On Wednesday, March 12, 2014, a tripped circuit breaker at Hudson Creek substation activated a protection system at the Channel Island power station, shutting down its transmission capacity, affecting more than 130,000 people. This power failure brought the city of Darwin, Australia, almost to a complete standstill. This blackout stretched all the way to Katherine (about 320 km south-east), Palmerston, and Pine Creek.

During this period of shut down (it took about 14 hours before 80% of the Darwin residents had their power restored), the public service and most businesses shut down, the city bus service suspended, traffic light across the city were out (with police manning intersections), air conditioning was not available, etc.

“While it wasn’t an emergency situation, it was a crisis,” Chief Minister Adam Giles told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

To quote from a petition to the Prime Minister Singh of India in 2012 when India was experiencing blackout:

It’s time to invest in energy efficiency and decentralized renewable energy/solar energy for all.

It is time to deploy lots of distributed solar and efficiency because solar is available when most needed, during peak hours. And efficiency makes the peak smaller so less power is needed in the first place.

~may we all have a bright and sunny day~

Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker

Any of your comments/suggestions/questions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com

SEIA, Leading Business Groups Urge Vice President to Raise India Trade Concerns

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With widespread U.S. concerns over India’s trade practices and policies, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) – along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and nearly 40 other leading American business groups – are urging Vice President Biden to raise these concerns during his visit to India later this month. This letter was delivered to the vice president this morning.

Burst of Sunshine (photo at Orlando International Airport, by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

About SEIA®:
Established in 1974, the Solar Energy Industries Association® is the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry. Through advocacy and education, SEIA and its 1,000 member companies are building a strong solar industry to power America. As the voice of the industry, SEIA works to make solar a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy. www.seia.org.